By Stella Kim and Blaine Harden
Washington Post Foreign Service
Friday, June 20, 2008 10:09 AM

SEOUL, June 20 -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak fired his top advisers on Friday in a staff overhaul meant to defuse public anger sparked by his decision to allow the importation of U.S. beef.

As Korean and U.S. negotiators neared agreement on a compromise to the beef importation rules, Lee announced that he would replace his chief of staff and seven advisers, including his top aides for foreign affairs and economic issues. According to Korean media reports, he also plans to replace as many as three cabinet ministers next week, including the minister of food, agriculture, forestry and fisheries.

Lee's entire cabinet offered to quit as recent protests expanded from a focus on the beef issue to a broader set of complaints with Lee's still-young administration, which many Koreans feel has adopted an imperious tone and focused too much on pleasing the United States.

On Thursday, Lee issued a public apology for failing to grasp the fears his people hold about the threat of mad cow disease from U.S. beef. He promised that while he could not reinstate the ban on imports, he would ensure that any U.S. beef sold in South Korea would come only from younger cattle deemed to be less at risk of the disease.

U.S. trade officials in Washington said that a compromise is close after recent negotiations, and that what remains is for the representatives of the two countries to consult with their governments and other interested parties. Details are expected to be announced as soon as this weekend.

The popular fears over mad cow disease have in the past six weeks undermined Lee's leadership, paralyzed his government and triggered huge and sometimes violent street protests, while giving rise to a broader discontent that in the past week has spawned a crippling strike by truckers.

"I and my government should have looked at what the people want regarding food safety more carefully," Lee said. "But we failed to do so and now seriously reflect on the failure."

In a nationally televised news conference, Lee shared what he called a "repenting moment." It occurred last week as he watched from his residence as more than 80,000 people gathered in central Seoul for the largest of the beef protests.

"I reproached myself again and again late into the night watching the candlelight vigil," he said.

Protesters have demanded that Lee, who has been in office less than four months, renegotiate a beef deal made in April with the United States as part of a larger free-trade agreement between the two countries. They want a new agreement to stipulate that beef from cattle older than 30 months cannot be imported. Cattle younger than that are regarded as less likely to carry mad cow disease.

Lee said Thursday he could not renegotiate the deal because that might cause serious problems for the Korean economy. Instead, his government has been pursing talks this week in Washington to modify regulations that specify the age of beef for import.

Nevertheless, protesters launched a 48-hour candlelight vigil in downtown Seoul on Friday, and 3,000 people gathered in front of the presidential palace to demand a full renegotiation of the beef deal.

Over the past six weeks, it has became clear that South Koreans were upset about more than just beef. Critics accused Lee of bending to U.S. interests and arrogantly refusing to build consensus before major policy decisions. Protesters were demanding last week that he resign.

Lee tried to explain his motivations Thursday. It was part of an apology that was considerably more detailed and introspective than his first public apology, in late May. "In retrospect, I was in a hurry after being elected president," he said.

Restrictions on imports of U.S. beef had been in place here since 2003, when the first case of mad cow disease was confirmed in a cow slaughtered in Washington state. The curbs had become a major obstacle to congressional ratification of the U.S.-South Korea free-trade deal, which was signed last summer.

Lee lifted a ban on all U.S. beef imports April 18 while on a visit to Washington. His decision, made with little consultation, came hours before he was to meet with Bush.

Lee said Thursday that he had moved quickly in the belief this would speed approval of the free-trade agreement and help him meet his campaign promise to increase economic growth: "I did not want to miss this golden opportunity."

Meanwhile, a devastating truckers' strike over fuel prices showed signs of winding down. In the past week, the strike has delayed more than $6 billion worth of freight. But on Thursday, about 2,100 truckers returned to work.

Still, more strikes are planned for next month, and opposition groups said Thursday that they were "deeply disappointed" that Lee has refused to renegotiate the beef deal.

Harden reported from Tokyo.